Rave Culture
'Rave Culture:' (>1950s London England slang for wild party), Parties in nightclubs, vacant homes, warehouses, etc. with DJs playing electronic dance music, go-go dancers, fire dancers and club drug use, such as ketamine, MDMA or Ecstasy, nitrites or "poppers," etc. It began as jazz house parties in '50s London, then '60s mod and hippie parties in UK, USA, etc. then disco, funk and electronic music parties in nightclubs called discotecques, with DJs playing recorded music, in the 1970s. Underground (secret) electronic dance music parties began in the 1980s, with secret times and locations announced on invitees' answering machines, to avoid social stigma against disco and hippies. By the 1990s to present day, the above execesses provoked a moral panic and police raids, necessitating club drug precaution advice to ravers. Go (1999) was a cult crime comedy about drug dealing at raves in one of its several interrelated stories. Famous clubgoers included the Club Kids, a subculture of 750 people, led by Michael Alig and James St. James and including female impersonators Ru Paul and Lady Bunny, Transgender model/singer Amanda Lepore and singer Nina Hagen in '80s-90s New York City, which still influences fashion, performance art, drag and the electronic music scene. They threw impromptu parties at McDonalds', Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King,the New York Subway System, etc. until police dispersed them, always near a nightclub. They were interviewed on Donahue, Geraldo and Sally Jesse Raphael. The original Club Kids broke up after Alig was convicted of murdering his drug dealer and New York City mayor Giuliani's "Quality of Life" crackdown on nightclubs.The events were chronicled in the movie'' Party Monster'' (2003), based on a book by James St. James. Today the term "Club Kids" means a gay stereotype of nightclubbing, substance abuse and sex with multiple partners, as shown on LGBT TV series such as'' Queer As Folk, The L Word'' and'' Noah's Arc.'' Eventually, legal venues allowed big public dance parties, such as Las Vegas' Electric Daisy Carnival, etc. They currently include Neo-Pagan rituals with altars and images and attractive set decoration, to set the festive mood(Wikipedia, 2006-18; TV Tropes Wiki, 2006-18). Bmup1p11021.jpg|Gay/Lesbian Group dance at Club Acid. Bmup1p10020.jpg|Freddy and Steve in drag go to Club Acid. Bmup1p9019.jpg|Freddy and friends dress up in drag. Bmup1p12.jpg|Freddy becomes Brother Muscle. '90s Raver Dannika and Natasha.jpg|'90s Raver Dannika and Natasha 'In Brother Muscle:' *In The Nineties, Freddy, Tasha and their dates in Gay/Lesbian 'Youth dressed in drag and fetishwear at Tasha's home then went to Club Acid on a Saturday night, where they danced and made out to Madonna's "Music" (2000) as people did Ecstasy around them. Freddy even called himself a Club Kid as he designed his 'superhero costume and became Brother Muscle on the next Sunday morning (Lathan, 2013). *The above sketches show the revised editions of Freddy and Tasha, Dannika and Natasha in more historically accurate '90s rave costumes, such as phat pants, PLUR (Peace, Love, Understanding and Respect) bracelets and deelie boppers, based on later research and the author's transition. Their revised character biographies describe them attending raves at similar locations, such as McWendell's, their workplace, then quitting to become nightclub promoters, worldwide (Lathan, 2019). 'Acknowledgements:' *Lathan, D.V.,'' Brother Muscle & Ultraperson #1-2'' (1993; rev. 1999; publ. 2013); Brother Muscle Wiki (2013-19) *''TV Tropes Wiki'' (2006-18) *''Wikipedia'' (2006-18) Category:Scenery Category:Characters